The drive to the Southwest Harbor regional EMR transfer station which has has a dedicated area for Mount Desert residents is only 2 minutes longer.

Many residents mistakenly believe that they have to pay to throw trash there, Public Works Director Brian Henkel said. It is free for taxpayers just like all town bins.

Southwest Harbor is already the commercial center for the villages west of Somes Sound - Pretty Marsh, Somesville, Hall Quarry. Losing access to the Sargeant Drive facility is not a big deal for these residents.

If the town can expand its garbage repository at the marina in Northeast Harbor and develop a new site in the eastern part of town, whether at Otter Creek or Seal Harbor, that would broaden distribution significantly. The town garage tucked in the northwestern part of town was never intended as a permanent trash disposal site.

But by far the best solution would be for residents on private roads to construct communal portals for garbage cans which the town is happy to service along town roads, Henkel said. Given that the demographic behind most private roads is well endowed, it’s just a matter of divvying up the cost to construct such an enclosure. See below.

Henkel said he is mulling ideas for gating off the Sargeant Drive garage to permit entry only for residents to comply with guidelines from the town’s insurance provider.

That would still leave potential liability concerns - accidents, injuries, cars running into a town building or vehicle, or any number of other random things that might occur in the middle of the night.

Closing Sargeant Drive would also discourage many out-of-town residents and businesses from using their trash bins.

This morning I saw a landscape company dumping yard detritus in a bin at Sargeant Drive which is not allowed.

The Mount Desert town garage is a 9-minute drive from Town Hill Market. The Bar Harbor town transfer station near the Kebo club is a 17-minute drive.

Here is the video of the select board meeting last night where trash was the major topic:

MOUNT DESERT, Maine - July 20, 2026 - How we rid our waste may be the ultimate determinant of how we are measured as a society.

So I, and others, took it personally when suddenly the rules changed in the only zip code on the island which can afford residential garbage pickup twice a week.

Some us have been carting our waste to the bins at the town garage on Sargeant Drive for decades for a variety of reasons - town trucks do not venture down private roads, our shared trash containers fill up fast ever since short-term vacationers proliferated and we just like the tactile experience of throwing stuff away.

Less than a week after the Islander reported that the town is closing its garage to waste collection this fall, three members of the select board tonight took turns to share the loud, negative reaction they heard from citizens, as I did.

It was a rare departure from form - its meetings usually running according to the precision of a Rolex - to hear member Martha Dudman raise an unpleasantness, followed by members David MacDonald and Rodney King, that they have heard similar rumblings that the removal of the garbage bins was a bad idea.

Events have conspired to make the simple task of ridding garbage a major issue.

• Over the last five years, this town, like others, have experienced a growth of short term rentals. Companies like AirBNB want their tenants to throw away their garbage no matter how long they stay. (I am awaiting the town’s report on the growth of the volume of trash over the last five years.)

• The town garage is open to all unlike the transfer station in Southwest Harbor which has a gate and set hours. It’s much more convenient for out-of-town residents in Town Hill to dump their garbage here than to drive to Bar Harbor’s transfer station behind the Kebo Golf Course.

• The town’s liability insurer, Maine Municipal Association, is uncomfortable with an open facility. It stated in a letter, “The town allows 24/7 unmonitored access to the site for the public to enter at any time. This is a significant liability exposure and should mitigate having the site only open during set hours while staff are on site.”

The town garage was never intended to be a transfer station. But it has become just that for many.

Town Manager Alex Kimball said he is reviewing all considerations.

This is a town with resources.

Eyes are watching with garbage bags in tow.

Other residents are working to rally neighborhood support. They have organized three “community conversations” July 22, 29 and Aug. 12 to explore the future of the VIS - formerly called West Eden VIS - which was incorporated in 1898.

Among concerns are the VIS’s membership policy and the consolidation of power under its new president Perry Moore, owner of the Moore Companies, a development consulting company with a rich history of projects on MDI.

Board member Randy Sprague said he is hopeful both sides will reach an “amicable agreement.” Sprague is also a member of the Town Council, which voted to grant $7,500 in FY26 to the Town Hill VIS. Sprague said the grant was not for cemetery operations.

“We urgently request that the VIS Board immediately remove the undeveloped portion of the cemetery from the market,” stated an Open Letter May 30 from Families & Friends of Mountain View Cemetery to the VIS board which was obtained by the QSJ.

“The decision to lease or sell this land with no prior notice to families and with no community input is a profound breach of public trust,” stated the letter. “We are further distressed to learn that the acreage offered for lease or sale contains burial grounds, with human remains …”

“Commercial uses of this land could permanently destroy the cemetery's peaceful nature. The beautiful oak trees that would provide future shade and comfort could be cleared to make way for development. The possible use of the cemetery road for commercial access to the listed property would be further desecration of nearby burial sites.

“Our cemetery is not vacant land waiting for a better use. It is sacred ground to be preserved for our future as others seek a place to be laid to rest alongside loved ones.

“In the spirit of goodwill and community healing, we ask the members of the VIS Board to restore our trust by immediately removing this land from the market. We ask that you take this action and respond within five (5) days of receipt of our request.”

Board President Perry Moore responded on June 16 to Christie Emigh, MD, a signatory of the letter:

“Five days is not an adequate amount of time for the VIS to respond to the petition we received in last Friday's afternoon mail. Most of us spent the bulk of Sunday moving 25 tons of wood chips from the parking lot into the playground. The petition includes factual errors and hyperbolic claims that ignore current realities the cemetery and its needs for long-term viability. A more meaningful response will be provided as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.”

Shaiah Emigh-Doyle, whose brother is buried in the cemetery, said it was disclosed at a recent VIS board meeting that a potential buyer asked whether the entrance road through the cemetery could be used as an egress to the commercial development.

I took this video this morning of the sales sign and its proximity to the entrance to the cemetery. The entrance road runs only a few feet from some of the graves.

At the May 13 board meeting, the minutes showed that Perry proposed a leasing scheme to allow up to eight houses on the lot.

“A new appraisal would be required to determine the value of a 99-year lease … ” the minutes stated. “Perry moved to ask the appraiser to revise the appraisal … which passed unanimously, 4–0.”

Two months after the vote, Carter’s Real Estate apparently did not get the memo as its sign still shows land “for sale.”

Emigh-Doyle was appalled that the oak trees from which she found comfort in her frequent visits to her brother’s grave would be replaced by a parking lot and eight houses or apartments.

She and others are also probing into what they feel is an opaque informational process at the VIS. She said she’s been trying since December to join as a member by following the instructions on its website.

Then she was told the website has dated information even though it states on its home page that it is copyrighted in 2026.

Emigh-Doyle said she is a software engineer and offered technical service to help the VIS but got no response.

More information about the meetings starting Wednesday is available by calling resident Andrew Gervais in the number listed in this flyer.

Perry Moore did not respond to a request for comment for this article which I relayed to Randy Sprague. A message left at Carter’s Real Estate was not returned.

CALENDAR UPDATES!

BAR HARBOR - How many authors can command the trifecta of the island’s full-time libraries for a single event?

Don’t miss Christina Baker Kline and The Foursome (May 2026) hosted by Jesup Memorial Library, Northeast Harbor Library and the Southwest Harbor Public Library.

The program will be July 21 at the MDI High School located at 1081 Eagle Lake Rd, Bar Harbor, ME 04609 starting at 5:30.

This was my article about her book - the true lives of Chang and Eng Bunker, the world-renowned conjoined twins from Siam, and their marriages to sisters Sarah and Adelaide Yates (Kline’s own distant relatives), this novel reimagines one of the strangest and most revealing family stories in American history — and offers a piercingly intimate perspective on an extraordinary chapter of the past.

Historical fiction, I believe, is a more challenging genre than its progenitors. How Baker Kline sliced and diced her decisions between fiction and fact needs more than an hour.

NORTHEAST HARBOR - Get in your car after Baker Kline’s event and head to the Neighborhood House where the Bretano Quartet will take the stage as part of its North American tour.

Beethoven’s String Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2 was underwritten with a legacy gift from the estates of Margaret and Robert Williams, residents of Southwest Harbor and Pennsylvania.

It is one of Beethoven’s darkest pieces.

But it will be leavened by Mozart’s String Quartet in D minor, K. 421; and his Piano Tri in D minor, Op 120 Faure.

So enjoy!

It received 38 comments which is a record.

Here are some of them:

Ted Leisenring

“FOA and the park service cannot deny it is a complete failure. And if they attempt to rectify this with a big sign that will be another waste of taxpayer $$$ drawing even more attention to this colossal failure and waste of money.”

Jill Constantine

“Perhaps more disappointing that the dollars spent on a large sign would be another large pylon sign on Route 3 that is brightly lit 24×7. Some of us enjoy night sky.”

Susan Hayward, Beech Hill

“Since it was installed last year, I grind my teeth in fury driving south through Trenton and seeing that puny sign for the welcome center.

“The problem is not that the huge building is not visible, but that the welcome sign is invisible. Why should anyone slow down and turn into the driveway?

“Wrong size, wrong location, wrong message. A sad nail in this coffin.”

Chris Perham

“It is sad, especially with all the back patting after its completion. Social media is so easy to use to spread the word yet nothing is being done.”

Martha Higgins

“Right on! Every time that we have driven past that site in the last decade, we grind our teeth and mutter ‘Boondoggle.’ You are correct about the parking lot; we have never seen more than three cars. And what good is a center that has no connections?! No shuttle to the airports. Does Concord bus service stop there? Is there a taxi stand or an Uber pickup/dropoff spot? If we were to park there and attempt to ride the Explorer to Thurston’s, it would be an all-day affair. Useless. A dear departed neighbor in Bernard volunteered with FOA for years until she figured out that they had too much money and too little common sense. This is the proof in the pudding.

Jill Constantine

“Instead of building seasonal staff housing atop an already environmentally stressed Northeast Creek watershed, FOA should put them at Acadia Gateway Center where there is plenty of parking already” - The Quietside Journal.

“And there is plenty of space for building worker housing at the Gateway site. I also objected to FOA buying the apartment building by the former BH Golf Course, evicting the tenants, and using it for bus drivers. Build on the Gateway site!

“BTW That property formerly belonged to some of my ancestors and my mother spent part of her childhood in the old farmhouse.”

MaryEllen Martel

“I walked up around the Carroll Homestead this a.m. for the 1st time this year. I mused to my dog, ‘What have We The People done to this beautiful land.’ I think off island staff and bus driver housing at the Gateway thing is an outstanding idea. Let the seasonal crews cope with some of the traffic noise and amusement.

“We met a veteran who had lived in one of the apartments and had no idea where he would go.

“Those were some scary hiking pictures.”

Jill Constantine

“It is beyond my imagination to think why anyone would consider what is going on in the photos a great hiking, outdoor experience. It is like walking a vertical city street. What makes ‘domino effect’ jump to mind when I think of one person tripping or falling?”

Heidi L

“Or some ‘influencer’ doing stupid things for views...

Ted Leisenring

“What an incredible waste of money! If a survey had been conducted FOA and the park service would have found that no visitors would be willing to leave their cars and important necessities so far from their destinations in the park. There is no benefit. This facility will forever be a vacant white elephant. Why not repurpose it with affordable housing?”

Robin Graves

“Once again. Poor planning ruins a major construction!”

Mich

“Poor follow-up is more like it. They had their ribbon cutting ceremony then dropped the ball.”

Mich

“Friends of Acadia and the Island Explorer have completely FAILED to advertise or push the buses and the Gateway center on social media. It’s as if people from the 1940s are running these places.”

Ted Leisenring

“Advertising and SM will not change anything. People will not abandon their cars so far from the park. If they had done a survey they would have learned this fact.

Mich

“When they have to park a mile from Sand Beach to try and enjoy Sand Beach they actually are abandoning their cars. Same goes for Jordan pond and folks parking their cars at Wildwood stables, 1.25 miles away. Doesn’t look fun to me, personally for me I’ll pack a bag or two and get dropped off right at the front door.”

Slate

“At least when they park a mile from Sand Beach it isn’t a half a day affair to get back to their car. If one leaves their car at the Gateway Center they’re forced to schlep all of their belongings with them for the rest of the day. What if they want to go to the beach in the morning, for a hike in the afternoon, and dinner in the evening?

Mich

“I’ve learned the schedule and you would have to be down at the lighthouse and miss a bus for it to take anywhere close to a half day. Folks are going back to their place before dinner mostly so your comment about schlepping all that stuff isn’t really relevant as a small bag/backpack holds a towel, suit, water and lunch easily. As locals who would love to get to Ellsworth occasionally in under 1.5 hours between 2:30 and 5pm we should really try and encourage the bus.”

Jill Constantine

“Well, speaking of the Precipice, last year birders with scopes could not be in that small parking area because they created too much stress for the Peregrines, and the brief time when the trail is open to hikers helps create the potentially hazardous herd hiking experience. Oddly, this year the Precipice parking lot has turned into a staging area for noisy heavy equipment that is slowly doing road work on the Loop. So the message the Park Service’s bizarre rules for that parking area suggest the birders and hikers stress the falcons but heavy road equipment does not bother them?

“I think the idea of using the Gateway thing for staff housing is absolutely perfect. Excellent thinking! :)”

David Dwyer

“I stayed at Seawall Campground and stopped at the Gateway Center as I was leaving for home. Almost completely deserted and hardly any souvenirs. Mainly a park and ride as stated in the article. I’m glad I saw this article and realize that I’m not alone in being bewildered by the purpose of this place.

“Lots of maps though!”

Ignacio Pessoa

“The Gateway Center needs some amenities to attract visitors and compensate for its remote location. A nice cafe would be a start, and perhaps some a well-advertised variety of food trucks and unique vendors.”

Mike

“I have always said “friends of Acadia are enemy to the people”

Martha Higgins

“Friends of Acadia do a lot of good for Acadia. This is not one of the good things!”

Steve Hoad

“A car and its culture: I will add that there is no bus service from southern Maine or New England that reaches Trenton or Acadia. So nondrivers are shut out! As a lover of the park, summer and/or winter, I, a nondriver, would ride a bus to get there regularly (at least 4 times a year). I was sad when I read the initial plan for this center in Trenton----sad about the placement, sad about the price and most sad about the fact it was built for car culture. This article only makes me sadder.”

Mich

“There is, actually, the Concord bus station by the Bangor airport is also serviced once a day by Downeast Transportation which goes all the way into downtown Bar Harbor.

Steve Hoad

“Thanks for this; it is, however, a limited benefit; the bus system on Mt Desert Island only runs seasonally so connections on the island are very limited ‘out of season.’ Wondering if that Bangor bus by Downeast stops at the visitor center----seasonally, of course.”

Mich

“Downeast is also only weekdays. Which visitor center are you referring to? The Gateway center or Hull’s cove?

Steve Hoad

“I meant the Gateway: In summer a stop there would create easy bus to bus transfer, especially important for nondrivers who may be carrying extensive luggage for a week’s stay.

Jenny Perruzzi

“How many people come to Acadia for the day vs. the multitudes who visit for a longer stay? Most people are bringing vehicles onto the island. The remote Gateway Center has never made sense.”

Slate

“A transportation hub and parking garage at Hulls Cove is probably the only thing that could have achieved the vision of the Gateway Center.”

Anne

“I visited the AGC for the first time last week. I was stunned at how empty the lot and the building were. It would definitely make sense to build worker housing there since buses are in place to transport them to the park.

“I do think tourist lodging off island will increase since there appear to be no brakes on development of such lodging. The new Hampton Inn in Ellsworth is nearing completion. This morning I noticed a new ‘Acadia Timber Cottages’ sign along the Bar Harbor Road in Trenton. Sure enough, new vacation lodging. I don’t know how that little bridge can handle it.

“Excellent selection of photos! Imagine finding out for the first time that your young child is afraid of heights on that hike--not to mention the parent’s irresponsibility putting a child of that very young age on that cliff side . And what in the word are elderly folks, who look like they are at risk of a fall just around their home, doing on the side of the cliff?! My friend and I sometimes visit Sand Beach in the early morning to enjoy it without crowds. But while the beach is not crowded at 7 am, the parking lot is already full with the people who are snaking their way up Beehive as in your photo. We watch them with amusement from our beach chairs. Finally, I could not agree more that a reservation system is needed for these overcrowded and treacherous hikes. A reservation is required to hike Mt. Katahdin and to drive up Cadillac. Why not the Beehive?

POSTSCRIPT:

This morning I spotted a car in the “Park and Ride” lot - the first one in three visits for me.

Then there were all these unused EV charging stations.

What a blessing, to have a Tanglewood caliber experience here between bites of a lobster roll and an ice cream cone at Ben and Bill’s after the concert.

I will go anywhere for a Mozart program. I think he is among the top five humans in history - Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Voltaire, Thomas Paine and Donald Trump.

Whoops, that’s six. So ignore the last one.

The program tomorrow is Mozart’s Impresario Overture and Piano Concerto No. 21 and songs from the Heartland.

Program notes:

”As part of America’s 250th Birthday, we celebrate our proud musical heritage with the distinctive sound of Aaron Copland and music inspired by America’s heartland, adaptation of Stephen Foster’s Old Folks at Home by Carl Busch, plus a new work flute and strings, Daisies by Beth Wiemann, inspired by the Downeast poem by James Russell Wiggins.”

James Russell Wiggins (December 4, 1903 – November 19, 2000) was executive editor of The Washington Post and United States Ambassador to the United Nations and editor of the Ellsworth American. In my opinion he created the perfect community paper until its was acquired by its current owner.

On July 14, there will be an EDGAR ALLEN POE Tribute - spooky and surreal films with music plus favorites by Joplin - two shows at 5:30 and 7:30.

On July 15, there will be the piece de resistance of the summer, the Mozart Opera double bill: Bastien et Bastienne and the Impresario - two incredible operas from Mozart in his youth and in his prime - set with a new libretto and farcical script by the New Opera Company of Boston.

A 2PM Show includes reception at Cafe This Way 14 1/2 Mount Desert St, Bar Harbor

POSTSCRIPT: Bar Harbor is an ugly town which plays hardball as evident by this letter on Bar Harbor Story:

Sidman decries stickers

He wrote:

With some reluctance but feeling it important to do so, I write to inform our community how low some reprobates in Bar Harbor have sunk with the recent public posting around town of the sticker above, falsely claiming that I personally do not want tourism in Bar Harbor, in an effort to divert business away from my and my wife’s gallery by name. These stickers demean and dishonor the entire community, being a public escalation of previous attacks against me personally as a stand-in for community sentiment. In addition to being utterly untrue, it defies any logic that my wife’s life-work business, that has for 31 years celebrated and enhanced Bar Harbor nationally and globally by sending over ten thousand fine paintings into thousands of homes, across all fifty US states and fifteen other countries, would not want tourists to visit.

Bar Harbor’s voters are trying to better manage uniquely high levels of tourism, and no one has ever suggested that visitors are unwelcome here. Our gallery and Town indeed welcome them, but in a fashion that does not overwhelm the community itself. These stickers show everyone that some in our midst cannot abide democratic processes and votes not in their favor, and resort instead to manufactured personal vilification as their last spoiled recourse.

In response, I call upon the Chamber of Commerce (of whom our desperate adversaries are no doubt members) to publicly repudiate this conduct, lest visible internecine attacks damage everyone in the community. Our town government should be equally forceful, denouncing and prosecuting this behavior when possible and severing ties with any organization defending it. Anyone with information about the printing and posting of these stickers should contact the Bar Harbor Police Department. Finally, individuals can write letters to the editor, patronize (or not) establishments promoting or engaging in public disparagement, and/or further demonstrate their support for our efforts to defend the public interest via check to me at PO Box 200, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, or GoFundMe campaign https://www.gofundme.com/f/8aeb5n-protect-acadia-from-cruise-ships. Will we allow our community to be defined by a hateful, anonymous, cowardly, and non-democratic extremist fringe among us?

I did not attend the jazz event at the Kebo Golf Club last night with one of my favorites, Timatha Kasten, whom I have seen in New York City at the world’s highest venue for music of that genre.

Reason? I didn’t feel safe going to a place owned by someone who has declared he is an enemy of all who opposes over-tourism in our tiny speckle of what once was paradise.

TRENTON, July 10, 2026 - Last October, shortly after its “soft” opening, I stopped by the much touted $28 million Acadia Gateway Center here which is not visible from Route 3 as you come onto MDI, unlike the previous visitors center on Thompson Island which served several generation of tourists but was shuttered to make way for AGC.

There were only a handful of folks in the new center. I stopped by the visitors desk and asked the young man behind the counter for a recommendation for a lobster place on the Quietside.

“The Quietside?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “Those are the less trafficked towns west of Somes Sound.”

Before he had a chance to ask where Somes Sound was, I said, “How do I get to Beal’s Lobster Pier?”

“Beal’s Lobster Pier?” he asked, even though Beal’s promotional pamphlet was displayed in a rack of materials about 20 feet from the counter.

A manager named Bill who overheard the conversation intervened. “Give us time,” he said. “This is a shakedown period. Wait till next year at full season.”

Fair enough.

On July 3, 2026, the day before the busiest holiday weekend of the season, I pulled into the Gateway which was no more visible to southbound tourists than it was last October.

Here is the photo I took at 3 p.m. of the main parking lot:

Friends of Acadia was a crucial partner of the project. It donated $1 million to enable its construction. (The primary funders were the Federal Transit Administration, the National Park Service and Maine’s Department of Transportation.

“The Center will serve as a location where visitors can access park information, purchase park entrance passes,” FOA stated on its website. (That’s exactly what the previous Thompson Island center did.)

“The site also includes a year-round park-and-ride facility, as well as the maintenance center and offices for Downeast Transportation, the operator of the Island Explorer,” FOA added.

On July 3, there was not a single vehicle in the “park and ride” lot.

I then went to the transportation center. I counted six humans in that cavernous space, including two under Age 10. Here is a video of my visit.

“We are deeply grateful to the donors whose generosity helped bring this vision to life,” said Eric Stiles, CEO of Friends of Acadia in May. “By making it easier to park, ride the bus, and explore Acadia car-free, the Acadia Gateway Center will help reduce traffic congestion in the park and surrounding communities, protect park resources, and create a more enjoyable visitor experience.”

(I wonder if Eric Stiles or FOA Chair Bill Eacho, vice chair Dave Edson
treasurer Rob Leary and secretary Story Litchfield had taken the Islander Explorer bus to various destinations before they plunked down $1 million of their donors’ money, including mine, to support this vanity investment?)

I asked Stiles but he did not reply.

Instead I got this from Perrin Doniger, VP, Communications & Marketing, who wrote,

“We’re excited about the opening of the new Acadia Gateway Center, which will give visitors a sense of arrival and orientation to the park and broader region. The Gateway Center is about building for the future, and adoption will take time.

“As more visitors stay off-island, the Gateway Center will become an important part of the visitor experience and a great place to learn about recreational and interpretive activities in the park, the Island Explorer, and other destinations in Downeast Maine. We hope many others will help us spread the word and encourage more people to check it out and take the free bus.”

This comment was interesting on multiple levels, including the assumption that visitors are now starting to avoid lodging on the island.

FOA, the sleepy non-profit which I supported starting in the nineties, now has four vice presidents and a central staff rivaling that of any organization on MDI. One of its VPs, Stephanie Clement, vice president of “conservation,” spoke teary eyed at the Bar Harbor annual meeting in 2023 to to implore the town to support a Chamber of Commerce cruise ship project. That’s when I stopped donating to FOA.

John Bench, FOA facilities manager, also served on the chamber board which is a member of APPLL - Association to preserve and Protect Bar Harbor, which is suing taxpayers over their cap of cruise ship passengers onto Bar Harbor streets.

Parking on MDI is now a full blown crisis. But the Gateway is not the solution no matter what FOA believes.

The town manager in Mount Desert is forming a new parking committee to help address the myriad of colliding interests in the village from trucks taking up more than its share of space on Harborside Road, congested Main Street sidewalks forcing kids on bikes to swerve onto traffic, the increasing number of ebikes everywhere and the persistent lack of parking on Main Street.

In Southwest Harbor, the facilities manager of the Coast Guard station recently appeared in front of the select board to accuse the town of “screwing us” out of much needed parking.

Never mind that a municipal lot just up a small hill behind the town office building is rarely full, drivers like the convenience of parking steps from stores and restaurants.

Social media is full of protestations of the new paid lot in Manset even though the town has been talking about it for five years.

Tremont has its annual inundation of cars on Lighthouse Road with frequent lines backed up to the Bass Harbor Campground.

Of course, parking is the defining issue in the civil war in Bar Harbor between tourism businesses and residents. Restaurants already have a free pass in that they are not required to provide parking. Now the lodging industry wants the same consideration. A proposal is being floated to replace required on-site parking with off-site parking. Where they will find the needed space is anyone’s guess.

Meanwhile, Acadia National Park and its enabler, Friend of Acadia, continue to mainline an already addled patient- the cohort of adventure seekers who come for the adrenaline rush of the Precipice and the Beehive trails.

On Facebook, Brianna Lyn, who identified herself as a member of the Acadia National Park Hiking group, wrote:

“I made the mistake of thinking an 8:30 arrival time to shoot up and down was early enough on that day. Depending on what time this picture was taken, I’m actually probably somewhere in that line.

“I don’t think many people in that line realized how badly this could’ve gone. You had people who were not confident, hiking a trail that was obviously above their skill level, mixed with people who were impatient and rushing the person in front of them. Multiple people on one ladder; at one point the person below me literally had their hand on the same rung my foot was on. People stopping to take selfies on the iron rung bridge, on ladders, etc. It was a recipe for disaster and I’m so grateful no one fell, slipped, etc, as it would’ve caused a literal cascade of issues because people were packed so tight.

“I hate to even say this but I think Beehive needs to become a permitted hike during peak visit times like some of the bigger, more popular hikes out west. It was very scary (and I’ve done that trail dozens of times before).”

The park service is like a blackjack dealer in Vegas or a bartender who continues to over serve. They don’t know when to stop in the interest of the customer.

Expecting that a car with a family of four is going to pull into the “park and ride” here, transfer their luggage onto the Islander bus and continue their journey throughout a porous national park with hundreds of destinations is not only fanciful, it’s a full-face denial.

Since I stopped donating to FOA several years ago, my conscience is clear. There will be fatalities, but I did not enable it.

POSTSCRIPT: Instead of building seasonal staff housing atop an already environmentally stressed Northeast Creek watershed, FOA should put them at Acadia Gateway Center where there is plenty of parking already.

And they wonder why citizen petitions are so common here.

Without fail, come elections time, referendum items from citizens have become a staple, a sign of mistrust of the council which they believe favors the bidding of Big Money over voters.

And citizens may have to do that again, because their “representatives” may derail their amendment for a quieter downtown village.

Three hotel owners wrote emails and a letter asking the Town Council to slow things down and perhaps extend the lodging moratorium which is ironic since two of them opposed it from the start.

The council responded by scheduling a workshop for Tuesday night, immediately after its regular business meeting.

Hotelier Tom St. Germain stated there were several procedural errors made by the town in its considerations of a lodging amendment, in his email to the Planning Board.

Hotelier David Witham asked to extend the moratorium in a letter to Bar Harbor Story without specifics.

Hotelier Stephen Coston cited in an email the mistake made by Planning Board member Kathy St. Germain who said she voted for the 12-room cap when she meant to oppose it. (Kathy St. Germain said she is not related to Tom St. Germain)

Kathy St. Germain has a history of misreading documents. In one of the PB workshops on lodging, she caused confusion when working off of a dated land-use ordinance. The matter was cleared up after another member showed her the latest version of the LUO.

St. Germain is unbowed. She is seeking re-appointment. The second item on the workshop agenda Tuesday is a new policy for applicants for town boards and committees.

St. Germain said in an interview that her original intention was to fill a one-year vacancy until former PB Chair Millard Dority talked her into a three-year term which expired on June 30.

Dority was also the guiding angel for J. Clark Stivers who recently left the PB for a lower profile seat as a trustee for the high school.

If the council favors rubber stampers who will do its bidding, then it has to accept the consequences of actions by unqualified members.

The 4-2 vote by the PB to amend the LUO to cap lodging activity was perfectly legal.

But that did not stop Coston from referencing vice chair Ruth Eveland and Planning Director Michele Gagnon, both of whom opposed the 12-room cap.

Gagnon started the lodging workshops by proposing a 75- to 100-room cap in downtown on Cottage and Main streets and up Mount Desert Street to School Street.

Coston quoted Gagnon as telling the Islander, “The key economic driver of Bar Harbor is lodging. A lot of other activities, businesses, are in the coattails ... we have to think about the big picture. Not just about how we feel, but about what is good for the whole community. And that is the balancing act between all these things. I would definitely encourage you not to go down to L-12, if I may.”

Last Tuesday, at the Planning Board hearing to air the room caps, State Rep. Gary Friedmann presented the most compelling evidence on just how out of control lodging is in Bar Harbor.

“Bar Harbor has the highest revenues in hospitality in the state,” said Friedmann, who extrapolated sales tax revenues to reach that conclusion.

I nearly fell off my chair.

For all the process (and wasted time) - the sustainability committee, “workshops” too numerous to count, my lost brain cells from six years of watching council meetings - this was as clear a statement of the problem than anything produced by the planning staff and its consultants.

Friedmann continued. “Bar Harbor hospitality industry is above Portland. We’re the highest generating town in the state. Portland’s a close second.

“At some point I think we have to slow down the rate of development.”

So here is the data as published by the state Department of Revenue Services:

(Just click “annual taxable sales by town.”)

For FY25, Bar Harbor generated $160,808,848 in lodging sales tax. Portland generated $145,720,416.

Let that sink in, dear reader, that a town with 5,500 residents on an island in Maine with only a two-lane egress to get on and off the island generates more lodging revenue than the City of Portland with 70,000 residents and which considers all of Southern Maine as its market.

(I miss Gary Friedmann. It was refreshing to hear his voice again piercing the drone of the council apparatchiks who are more beholden to the industry than to the voters. Friedmann always returned my calls. I asked him once why he did that and he said, “Because it’s part of my job.”)

Gary was a truth-teller. He was responsible for the town-wide survey in 2021 which, out of nearly 1,400 respondents, 55 percent said they viewed cruise ships as having a negative overall impact on the town.

He said last Tuesday he supported the 12-room cap on new hotels in the village approved by the PB which only needs the council’s pro forma approval to place it on the November ballot.

“I’ve never felt that we should shut the door and say no more development, but I think we can talk about the rate of growth, the type of growth, and the placement of the growth,” Friedmann said.

The Tuesday July 1 Planning Board hearing on the proposed 12-room cap was well attended. Speaker after speaker spoke in favor of its passage.

One, Dennis Bracale, an early activist who sued and won a major court decision against the town in 2013 to reverse sweeping zoning changes, said he favored an extension of the current lodging moratorium and the 12-room cap in the village.

When told that some councilors are contemplating not putting the proposed cap on the November ballot and only extend the lodging moratorium, Bracale made it clear that would constitute a clear violation of the wishes of the electorate.

Such an act would be a permanent stain on the council and leave the town de facto an appendage of the tourism industry, he and others said.

The council must decide by the end of the month on the question of the amendment for the 12-room cap.

As it stands, it may already be too late to extend the current moratorium. By my reading, the deadline - June 28 - has already passed. But I’m not a lawyer.

The council may consider a new moratorium to add other issues. Council vice chair Earl Brechlin has said he would like to discuss whether to allow off-site parking for new businesses in downtown.

Everyone who came to the mic July 1 in the council chambers spoke in favor of the 12-room cap.

Vice Chair Ruth Eveland then went on a six-minute soliloquy during which she said she will speak at the council meeting this coming Tuesday to issue a minority report opposing the amendment. She also said the PB exceeded its authority by setting policy.

You may watch her speech at Minute 52.35 of the hearing on Town Hall Streams.

Eveland is the Susan Collins of local politics who is more typical of the ruling class here, as she is adept at speaking on both sides of an issue.

Last October, Eveland was the deciding vote against recommending an extension of the lodging moratorium by the Planning Board.

Two weeks later she appeared at the public hearing of the Town Council to implore that body to approve the extension which it did, by a 7-2 vote, with only business friendly members Steven Boucher and Val Peacock as the minority.

The whiplash you experienced was not unique to you. It was shared by me and many others.

PB member Teresa Wagner was caught off guard by Eveland’s comments.

Wagner said Eveland’s remarks were inappropriate at the end of the hearing and that she didn’t understand her point about the PB “developing policy.”

Eveland said it was not the job of the PB to develop policy and that it was the job of the council to do that.

Eveland seemed not to understand that voters were the ultimate policy maker and that indeed the proposed 12-room cap in the amendment to LUO would have to be passed by voters.

She’s one in a line of PB chairs who have stated erroneous assumptions. Dority once said in public that tourists have as much right as voters to influence policy.

Apart from the actual issues, it remains to be seen whether the planning department can handle the mountain of work it faces, with only a two-person staff, especially since it must draft new amendments to bring the town in alignment with state mandated laws on housing by next June.

Over two years, the department has gone through four planners - Max Moreno, Cameron Sands, Emily Sprecher and Hailey Bondy. Gagnon refused to answer my questions about why the turnover in her department is so high. Cali Martinez is the only planner left, along with Gagnon.

POSTSCRIPT: Citizens may impose limits on the lodging industry but there is no accounting for taste. Some of the newer buildings in the downtown village have the sensibility of a medium security federal correctional facility.

The new wing is the legacy of Ruth Eveland, who wooed many local businesses for donations when she was director of the Jesup, including the Walsh Family, owners of the West Street Hotel, the Regency and others. Now she is chair of the Planning Board with oversight over applications for building projects from many of the same businesses.

And they wonder why citizen petitions are so common here.

Without fail, come elections time, referendum items from citizens have become a staple, a sign of m…

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Federal officials were ordered last month to restore the signage by Friday, including dozens of Acadia’s displays on warming oceans and Wabanaki heritage, The Portland Press Herald reported.

The appeals court effectively paused that order on Thursday, a day before the materials were to be restored, while federal officials appeal the June decision.

In March 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order, titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” directing the Department of the Interior to ensure signs on federal properties “do not contain descriptions, depictions or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans” and “instead focus on the greatness of the achievements” of the country.

That was followed by a similar order from the secretary of the interior.

By last September, the Interior Department had ordered Acadia rangers to remove signs from some of the park’s most popular sites, including Cadillac Mountain, Great Meadow wetland and the Sieur de Monts Nature Center.

In February, half a dozen organizations, including the National Parks Conservation Association, American Association for State and Local History, and the Association of National Park Rangers, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, under the Administrative Procedure Act. The suit argued that the removal of the signs violated the National Park Service Centennial Act and is “arbitrary and capricious” as well as “excessive,” according to court documents.

A judge granted that motion last month, and the signs were set to be returned by Friday. However, the Interior Department is appealing that decision, and the appeals court ordered Thursday that the signs do not need to be returned for the time being.

The court’s decision cites that the department has made “a strong showing” and is “likely to succeed on the merits of its appeal,” and the return of the signs to national parks and monuments at this stage would be “burdensome” in such “short order.”

It also notes that, should the department’s appeal not survive, the plaintiffs have not shown that the delay “would cause them substantial injury.”

Lotte Scharfman, a child refugee from European fascism, dedicated the rest of her short life to democracy in her new home in the US. She became a leader in the Massachusetts League of Women Voters and is credited with the now common line, “Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport.”

The LWV continues to defend democratic elections, stepping up its work in the face of increasing threat. At the same time, the League reminds citizens that democracy can’t work if we don’t show up. We can’t just be spectators if we want our world—nationally and locally—to reflect our values.

We must vote of course, but we also have to educate ourselves on what’s happening and sometimes participate in the process that determines the choices on our ballots. Real democracy, in other words, isn’t about choosing from a menu of some higher power’s making—it’s our menu to create.

I’ve long heard concern from residents of Bar Harbor (as well as visitors) that we’re “selling out,” becoming too commercial, seasonal, overdeveloped. I’m concerned myself, especially when I see how this development crowds out year-round life.

What I’ve learned watching our local government is that we have the tools to shape our future, and while there’s some good work being done with them, we could do a lot more if voters spoke up at critical moments to really shape our town’s future. Right now is such a moment.

Residents are being asked to weigh in on a proposal to cap all new hotels on Cottage and Main Streets at 12 guest units. Currently limited only by “dimensional standards,” this number was narrowly approved by the Planning Board after extensive workshop discussion. It now goes to public hearing on July 1 for feedback and, if supported, onto the November ballot.

While many of us feel Bar Harbor doesn’t need any new hotels, especially in our congested downtown, this cap will keep new lodging more in line with the streets’ current style and scale, mitigate the impact of larger hotels, and offer a meaningful compromise that’s probably the best we’re going to get.

The town pays analysts to tell us that all “carrying capacity indicators suggest Bar Harbor’s commercial landscape increasingly serves peak-season visitors rather than resident needs.” https://www.barharbormaine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8796/DRAFT-Bar-Harbor-Situational-Assessment-by-Equator).

Nonetheless, establishing meaningful limits on lodging is tough work: it’s as if we’re afraid to risk Bar Harbor’s status as Acadia’s lodging mecca, as if hotels’ economic power must somehow be good for all. But is it?

Who really benefits from more hotels in Bar Harbor? The owners (and their investors) of course, employees (how many are year-round residents?), and maybe guests, though our abundance has yet to reduce prices. If we had a local option sales tax, the town could see significant revenue from our seasonal visitors, but we don’t.

Instead, hotels pay reduced water and sewer rates. They don’t pay their fair share in our enormous waste disposal costs. They rarely create housing for their employees because it’s easier and cheaper to buy up houses, displacing year-round residents. And right now, we don’t require new downtown hotels to have any parking for guests, let alone on-site parking, making every lot within range fair game for their parking lots and garages. To protect abutting businesses and neighborhoods from tempting offers, Bar Harbor must require on-site parking for all new lodgings.

Fortunately, a few members of the planning board and public have persisted in fighting for business diversity and residents over hotel profits in our downtown. They know these 7 small blocks of Cottage and Main, even as they flood with visitors in the season, are essential for residents year-round. They’re where we find our hospital and dentist offices, pharmacy, grocery store, municipal building, post office, banks, YMCA, athletic field, restaurants, and the many shops we rely on for coffee, food, books, creative supplies, and gifts, not to mention the apartments on or above these streets. Why should we lose any of these to an industry that benefits so few?

With the lodging moratorium likely lifting next month, Bar Harbor’s downtown will be more vulnerable to stalled developers than ever. If you want to give small business a chance on Cottage and Main and keep new hotels at compatible scale, please write to the planning board planningboard@barharbormaine.gov and town council council@barharbormaine.gov and attend the July 1 hearing to tell them downtown Bar doesn’t need hotels bigger than L12 and request that all new hotels have on-site parking.

Thank you, Cara Ryan

Holiday offerings from Bar Harbor Music Festival

Purchase tickets here for the Great American Songbook and other performances:

The new select board, which took office July 1 with two new members, refused to reappoint long-time member Lee Worcester to the powerful Planning Board tonight and instead named former member David Lloyd to a five-year term in a unanimous vote. Lloyd is the former owner of the Seawall Motel.

Worcester is one of the most polarizing figures in town.

The town was embroiled in a town-wide debate since last August over his proposal to create 12 residential lots abutting the abandoned landfill which his family owns. The landfill has been found to be the source of PFAS in tests required by the town.

On Feb. 4, Trundy Farms subdivision was approved by the Planning Board while Worcester was the sitting vice chair. Even though Worcester recused himself, there were plenty of occasions when the board showed deference and sought his opinion.

Once, interim chair John Williams interrupted a public hearing to conduct a private sidebar discussion with Worcester to seek his advice on how to proceed.

On another occasion, chair Eric Davis asked Worcester for his opinion for a conditional approval which came from the applicant himself, until I reminded Davis that the pubic hearing portion of the meeting had ended and that such bilateral conversations were illegal.

The Trundy Farms project sparked a citizens revolt which resulted in an amendment to the zoning code in November to limit construction activity within a half-mile radius of the landfill without prior soil testing.

On Nov. 5, 2025, 790 voters - or 55 percent of the electorate - turned out, of whom 532 were alarmed enough by the proposal to vote for an ordinance amendment limiting such use. A total of 190 voted no and 68 blank ballots were returned. That was an overwhelming 67 percent majority in favor of the amendment.

On May 5, 2026, voters delivered the coup de grace, electing Kalie Hess and Melanie Lisy by overwhelming margins over Tom Benson, former select chair who also is a surveyor for Worcester’s project, and incumbent Chapin McFarland, who had a quiet three-year stint.

Worcester’s conflicts of interest have been the subject of debate for at least 15 years in town.

In 2011, according to an article in the Islander, the select board voted 4-1 to reject his reappointment to the Planning Board after concerns were raised about his leadership and handling of zoning changes.

Former PB member Sandy Johnson and selectman Skip Wilson said Worcester pushed his own agenda and that the planning board had not handled zoning amendments appropriately.

Worcester managed to get back to Planning Board after that brief hiatus.

On May 25, I reported another Lee Worcester-owned project - expansion of Smuggler’s Den campground by 50 camp sites - is headed for town boards for consideration.

No doubt Ricks will be called upon to take full measure of our current national zeitgeist - to better understand the genesis of conflict from someone who has made that his life’s work.

Ricks is the author of the No. 1 bestseller Fiasco, a history of the beginning of the Iraq War. As a reporter at the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, he was a member of two teams that won the Pulitzer Prize. He worked in the Maine woods in his youth and trapped lobsters when living on an island in Penobscot Bay. He now divides his time between Texas and Maine.

As someone who attended Taipei American School and graduated from Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria, VA., I share a bond with Ricks, who attended the American International School in Kabul and graduated from Scarsdale High School.

Such non sequiturs in life shaped our views and assumptions.

Last summer, with every seat in the front room occupied, Ricks took us on his journey. His second crime novel, “We Can’t Save You,” was anything but the quintessential work of the genre. Not a Paul Doiron knockoff, for sure.

The protagonist - a disconsolate, tragedy-addled FBI agent - was drawn into the complex relationship between the local community and Native American tribes in Maine.

Agent Ryan Tapia is assigned to monitor the protestors who began a walk across the state to call attention to the warming of earth from climate change.

Enraged by the protestors’ actions, the White House sends a National Guard unit unit to track down the protestors on their stealth march through the evergreen forests.

(Ricks wrote that section a full year before Donald Trump unleashed the national guard on similar protests across major cities in the country.)

Ricks drew inspiration from “Waging a Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968,” my favorite of his books in which Ricks framed the nonviolent struggle as a highly organized military campaign.

The subject of the book event July 6, “Big Money, Small Town,” centers on a hamlet in western Maine whose water has been poisoned by the mining of strategic minerals by a private equity company. Lest anyone thinks this is a fictional overreach, consider that a large deposit of lithium was discovered in Newry, Maine, in 2021, worth $1.5 billion.

Such are the larger themes for Ricks - “the worm has turned for the tycoon class,” he said on Morning Joe. Oligarchs have become the everyday American villain, as demonstrated by the appeal of Graham Platner, he has said.

For most of his career, Ricks’s focus was military strategy which bleeds into every book he’s written.

Michael O'Hanlon wrote in a review of “Fiasco” for Slate that ranking military brass “failed to understand counterinsurgency warfare; repeated many of the mistakes made in Vietnam, including the overuse of destructive force; and put America as well as its coalition partners on a path that may well lead to defeat. Ricks takes major issue with the following widely prevalent tactics of the American operation:

• conducting widespread cordon and search operations that had Americans bursting into tens of thousands of Iraqi homes and detaining tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians, most of whom were innocent—yet many of whom wound up so angered by the experience that they either supported or joined the insurgency;

• returning artillery fire far too indiscriminately, killing and wounding huge numbers of innocent Iraqis in addition to the insurgents and terrorists who were being targeted;

• using force too freely at checkpoints and in road convoys, letting the immediate tactical instinct to employ massive firepower in self defense overwhelm the strategic need, well understood by students of counterinsurgency, to avoid killing innocents and thereby creating more enemies among their families and friends.”

Please come prepared with questions on July 6 for Ricks.

I have two:

• Is the U.S. is disadvantaging itself by over-regulating the excavation of strategic minerals while other countries are taking the lead in harvesting them?

• What is the current state of our counter-intelligence infrastructure?

The Southwest Harbor Public Library July 6 event starts at 5:30 p.m.

For online registrations, select “1” for Number of people attending.

U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Boston gave the park service 21 days - until July 4 -to comply with her preliminary injunction Friday.

A suit was brought by the National Parks Conservation Association, the American Association for State and Local History, the Association of National Park Rangers, the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, the Society for Experiential Graphic Designers and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

They argued that the U.S. Department of the Interior has been organizing “a sustained campaign to erase history and undermine science.”

The lawsuit described several plaques and exhibits that had been removed, including the following:

• Educational signage at Acadia National Park describing the importance of Cadillac Mountain to the Wabanaki people and on the effects of climate change.

• A sign at Fort Pulaski National Park in Georgia showing a highly reproduced image of an enslaved man’s scars received from severe whippings during his enslavement.

• Interpretive displays at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, created through research by the NPS and West Carolina University warning that climate change could lead to the historic island being underwater by the end of the century.

“I am thrilled that the courts have affirmed the value of historical, cultural and scientific interpretive signage in Acadia National Park,” said State Rep. Gary Friedmann, who led 11 Maine lawmakers last October to condemn the removal of educational signs in Acadia, as directed by Secretary Doug Burgum of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The removal of the signs followed the Trump Administration’s sweeping executive order aimed at “restoring truth and sanity to American history,” part of its widespread effort to deny climate science and erase parts of American history that it doesn’t like from public spaces across the country.

In their letter, the Maine lawmakers highlighted the positive impact of the signage on the visitor experience and its role in protecting the land. The signs, located near some of the park’s most popular locations, provided visitors with scientifically relevant information about the effects of climate change on the local ecosystem and shared the history of the Wabanaki people.

“The removal of these signs doesn’t just increase the risk of damage to these precious natural resources – it also denies all visitors the opportunity to fully learn about the land that they are walking on; about its history, and about how climate change will impact it for future generations,” the lawmakers wrote.

“There should be nothing controversial about these signs. Their removal from the park is unfortunately another example of this administration’s attempt to stifle science and whitewash our country’s history. It is beyond troubling.”

“Under the guise of promoting American dignity, this administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, displays, and interpretive exhibits at national parks that do not align with its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths,” Kelley wrote in her decision.

“Rather, many of these exhibits, plaques and informational signs provided important information on our nation’s history and environment, including the more challenging aspects of our nation’s past, such as the treatment of minorities—information that will be returned to the parks and monuments they were taken from ahead of July 4, 2026, our nation’s 250th anniversary.”

Kelley accused the Trump administration of seeking “to rewrite the Nation’s history with a white-out pen,” and said that national parks play an important role in telling the multifaceted history of America, including “the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of the Interior Friday dismissed the ruling as the work of a “liberal activist judge.”

“The Department will look at our appeal options while we celebrate UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House this weekend in honor of our nation’s 250th with the greatest president in the history of our country — President Donald J. Trump,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Trump initially signed the executive order in March 2025, arguing that a revisionist movement is seeking to undermine American history by replacing objective fact with a distorted, ideologically driven narrative.

Under the order, more than 430 sites under the purview of the National Park Service were told to review language on monuments, memorials, statues and markers to ensure they didn’t disparage Americans past or present, with a close eye on language added during former President Biden’s administration. QR codes were also added at sites encouraging visitors to report any signs they believed violated the order.

“National parks serve as living classrooms for our country, where science and history come to life for visitors,” Alan Spears, senior director of cultural resources at the parks conservation association, said in a February statement. “As Americans, we deserve national parks that tell stories of our country’s triumphs and heartbreaks alike. We can handle the truth.”

A survey intended to capture feedback from younger residents by the planning department instead went to some older citizens who found it humorous, “ridiculous” and in some cases discriminatory.

Toward the end of the Wednesday meeting of the sustainable tourism task force, Planning Board member Teresa Wagner said she was “troubled” by the survey, creating the impression the planning department “didn’t feel it got what it wanted from probably older people,” so it went shopping for younger voices.

The survey asked respondents to state which of three age groups to which they belonged:

• 18-27

• 28-34

• 35-44

”I don’t really understand why we would target a survey that way. I don’t know why we wouldn’t send a survey out to everybody who might want to answer it,” Wagner said.

“I found the language of it to be extremely off-putting. I’m sure that was not intentional, but that was the impact.”

The planning department introduced the survey with this language:

“The Town of Bar Harbor has collected an immense amount of community feedback throughout the Comprehensive Plan and Sustainable Tourism Management efforts. One key question this survey wants to expand upon is whether young professionals and young families have differing priorities than the people that typically engage with the Town’s public processes.

“Bar Harbor’s 2035 vision states that its ‘vibrancy stems from the mix of people and the dramatic natural and cultural beauty of our place.’ And to fulfill this vision, the Town wants to ensure minority voices, younger residents and families, are given equal weight.

“Therefore, this survey only gathers younger perspectives, people under 45. Some opinions and experiences shared may overlap with majority perspectives and priorities, and some may not. This effort should highlight where there is common ground and areas where young people may have different priorities.”

Polco, the survey tool used by the planning department, explicitly stated in its instructions that the town should “make sure enough people take your survey.”

The No. 1 mistake made is when “the survey outreach is not inclusive.”

“A good community survey process ensures every resident has an equal chance to be invited to participate,” Polco stated.

‘Without inclusive outreach, survey results may not reflect the true composition of the community.”

The planning department stated, “Those outside of the target 18-44 age group may email feedback to mgagnon@barharbormaine.gov and cmartinez@barharbormaine.gov.”

Several task force members said they had no knowledge of the survey.

Martinez was contrite. She said to Wagner at the end of the meeting, “I hear you, and I think in the future we wouldn’t approach it in the same way, since I think it wasn’t perceived in the way that we intended it, so I completely hear you.”

The survey had to be completed by June 9.

Some of the questions were:

• How frequently would you say local tourism affects your day-to-day life?

• How would you describe your sentiment on tourism in Bar Harbor?

• Which issues are most important to you? (Choose up to three)

1. Housing affordability and availability

2. Lack of job opportunities/advancement

3. Declining sense of community

4. Environment/Climate Change

5. Transportation/Parking/Traffic

6. Access to year-round services or businesses

• If you chose “Access to year-round services or businesses,” for the previous question, which businesses or services do you wish were open year-round in Bar Harbor? Are there any existing year-round services or businesses you wish Bar Harbor had more of? Please list them below.

• Do you see yourself living in this community 10-15 years from now?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Unsure

• In a few words, can you explain the most important factors that keep you here year-round or would keep you here year-round if those factors existed? (Optional)

• How long have you lived in the community?

1. Less than 5 years

2. 5 - 10 years

3. More than 10 years

4. Lifelong resident

• Housing Status

1. Rent

2. Own

3. Other

• What industry do you primarily work in?

1. Tourism/Hospitality/Recreation

2. Retail/Restaurant

3. Healthcare

4. Nonprofit/Public Sector

5. Remote Work for professional services

6. Trades/Construction

7. Scientific Research

8. Education

9. Other

POSTSCRIPT: Gagnon and Martinez did not return calls for this article. I wanted to ask them, among other questions, whether they knew that some prominent members of the business community have targeted retirees in town. I wrote on June 9 that Jeff Young, owner of Side Street Cafe and other businesses, posted on social media an invitation for disgruntled retirees to leave.

Young is a former Warrant Committee member.

The town has a moratorium on lodging development to allow the planning department to rework the land use ordinance to ensure a balance between lodging and residential uses.

Last Tuesday, the town got the results of the mother of all surveys - the municipal elections - where an amendment limiting lodging growth was approved 1,500 to 486.

The Planning board has been conducting workshops on more lodging amendments since April. Only hotel owners and a single Warrant Committee member have attended those workshops scheduled during weekday hours.

Apart from the age discrimination, I asked Gagnon whether the survey results were tainted by people outside the targeted cohort who might have submitted answers.